Simi Valley to Step Up Its Efforts to Stop Gangs : Crime: First there was a stabbing, beating and armed robbery. Now an escalating feud has made the violence even more apparent.

Beset by a recent wave of street violence, Simi Valley officials announced Monday that they are stepping up efforts to crush local gangs.

The Police Department will immediately increase patrols in some areas and add detectives assigned to gang suppression efforts.

In the past four months, gang members have been linked to a stabbing, beating and armed robbery. And in recent weeks, gang activity has become even more noticeable as a result of an escalating feud between groups based in Simi Valley and Moorpark, police said.

“The bottom line of all of this is that we are going to take whatever steps are appropriate in order to ensure that the activities of the last week or so do not spread,” Mayor Greg Stratton said. “That basically is our message: Just stay out of Simi Valley.”

A sergeant and two officers have been reassigned to work with a detective on gang crimes, police said.

Patrol officers also have been assigned extra duties in areas where gang activity is prevalent. And, in June, three motorcycle officers will be transferred to night shifts to assist with the gang patrols. Authorities declined to name the targeted neighborhoods.

Police said the changes will remain in place until the problem is solved. So far, the plan has cost the city no money, officials said.

However, the department has asked for additional funding for next year, police said. Stratton said the cost of replacing the officers who were reassigned could be $300,000 to $500,000.

Over the past several years, police said, they have seen an increase in gang problems, which they attribute in part to population growth and the intensity of gang activity in Southern California.

About 150 Simi Valley teen-agers have been identified as having ties to nine different gangs, including groups composed of Latinos, whites, Asians and blacks, Simi Valley Police Capt. Jerry Boyce said. In addition, some members of the Los Angeles Crips have moved to Simi Valley, he said.

Police said they also have identified graffiti in the city representing 52 gangs from different areas. Five years ago, there were no graffiti, he said.

The catalyst for the increased enforcement is a feud that began in April when Simi Valley gang members apparently went to Moorpark and crossed out a Moorpark gang’s graffiti, Boyce said.

“Broadly, what we’re faced with is two gangs that are after each other right now, and we’re trying to step in the middle of them,” said Boyce, who declined to name the gangs.

After the original incident, four Simi Valley gang members attacked a Moorpark gang member in Moorpark on April 17 with baseball bats. The four were arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, Boyce said.

Two days later, 30 Moorpark gang members descended on Simi Valley, where they were met by a group of about 25 Simi Valley gang members in the 700 block of California Avenue. Gang members carried clubs, sticks and bats, Boyce said. Police were called to the scene, but no one admitted to being a victim and no arrests were made.

On Wednesday, Moorpark gang members flashed a loaded shotgun as they drove through Rancho Simi Community Park, where Simi Valley gang members were, Boyce said. Police stopped the car as it left the area and cited a 16-year-old boy.

That feud is not the only gang activity in Simi Valley, Boyce said.

On Feb. 12, 20-year-old Jesus Quezada of Simi Valley was stabbed in the lower chest by three suspected gang members near the Adult Education school on Los Angeles Avenue. Members of the gang, apparently based in Los Angeles, ran. One member living in Simi Valley was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Quezada was treated at a hospital, Boyce said.

On April 11, Kevin Poter, 21, was walking on Cochran Street during a visit from Chicago when several men shouting gang slogans walked up to him with a handgun and robbed him of $20. Poter was not hurt and the investigation is continuing, Boyce said.

“We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had the violence other cities have,” Boyce said. “But when we start to see the steady escalation of contact where there is violence, it’s only a matter of time before something happens.”